1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information retrieval apparatus and an information display apparatus, and an information retrieval method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in the case where a portion having a specific meaning is retrieved from among a specific file and a file group, such a portion is retrieved by a keyword representing that meaning. Here, in the case where retrieval is made using a pen input system-based apparatus, which includes such as a tablet PC, after a keyword has been entered using a handwritten character recognition technique or using a software keyboard, keyword retrieval is made.
In the pen input system-based apparatus, there is an input system “POBox” of retrieving and presenting candidates for input character strings from a dictionary (including character strings that consist of a plurality of characters) with handwritten characters being a retrieval key. (Toshiyuki Masui. POBox: An Efficient Text Input Method for Handheld and Ubiquitous Computers. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Handheld and Ubiquitous Computing (HUC'99), pp. 289-300, September 1999.) This system is intended to simplify an input. In this system, it is possible to assume that a character or part thereof is inputted by handwriting, thereby executing a retrieval targeted for a dictionary and presenting candidates. Further, in a broader sense, general handwritten character recognition or character input support software using kana-kanji conversion can also be a retrieval apparatus targeted for a character dictionary as in the system described above.
Further, in the pen input system-based apparatus, an operation using a software keyboard is also general, and there has been proposed an apparatus for retrieving and presenting input candidate character strings when a key on the software keyboard has been pressed (JP-A 2002-342320 (KOKAI)).